I went out today with two of the other teachers from Kwangju University for my first dog meat dinner of the year. Now, for those of you who might not know, I managed to earn the nickname "Dog Killer" at Kyung Hee University, and for a very good reason - I'll be willing to bet money that I consume more dog meat than any other white man in the Republic of Korea. My relationship with man's best friend altered soon after I arrived in Korea nearly seven years ago - well, we all know that Koreans (at least some of them, anyway) eat dogs, and being of a curious nature and willing to ingest just about anything, I decided to give it a try. Needless to say, I found the delicacy much to my liking, and began eating it on a fairly regular basis. While I personally enjoy the canine any time of year, Koreans enjoy dog meat most in summer - it is beli! eved that dog meat replenishes ones lost energy and increases stamina. In particular, dog is considered the traditional food of the bognal, which represent the three hottest days of the Korean year (why they represent the three hottest day, however, requires an explanation of Korea's traditional calendar and element system that goes beyond the scope of this little post).

The practice of eating dog meat became a controversial topic circa 1988, when Korea began to come under fire from foreign-based animal rights activists in the period leading up to the Summer Olympic Games held in Seoul that year. Sensitive to the criticism from abroad, the Korean government banned the consumption of dog meat right before the start of the Games. Not that this stopped the diehard from enjoying the fruits of the pooch - dog meat restaurants simply invented new names for the dishes (many of those names are still in use, causing some confusion for the uninitiated), and continued doing a brisk trade. The period leading up to the 2002 World Cup witnessed a new round of criticism from animal rights activists, this time lead by shitty actress-turned-dog hugger Brigitte Bardot, who attempted to organize an international boycott of Korea over the dog meat issue. This time, however, Koreans fired back, led by Korea's very own "Dr. Dogmeat," Professor Ahn Yong-ge! un of Ch'ungnam University, who led a very public campaign to raise Koreans' awareness of their unique food culture. Truth be told, Dr. Ahn is an ultra-nationalist bigot; his web site (in Korean, English, French, German, Chinese, and Japanese!) is for the most part an anti-Western diatribe that borders on the racism for which he (rightly) condemns Western dog meat critics (the French come in for particularly brutal treatment), and his fellow traveller Dr. Kang Ju-hyeon of the Korean Folk Traditions Research Center writes in his "Dog Meat and Cultural Imperialism" that Western women are barbarians that have sex with dogs (they don't, do they?). For a much better defense of dog meat, check out William Saletan's January 16, 2002 piece in Slate.

Anyway, dog meat currently resides in legal limbo - technically, it's illegal, but dog meat restaurants operate openly, not one single person has ever been arrested for either the sale or consumption of canine meat, the current President is reportedly a big fan, and now that I think about it, I've eaten it with cops before. A bill was introduced into the National Assembly last year that called for dog meat's inclusion into the list of legally consumable livestock and regulation of slaughtering practices - as best as I can tell, the bill is still floating around somewhere in the Assembly. Regardless of its legal status, however, dogs will continue to be eaten here in Korea, and eaten in numbers.

Back to tonight's festivities. Two other teachers (both foreign), one of the teacher's Korean wife, and I headed up to the Kwanga T'ong Ori Restaurant, located on the way to Chungshim-sa Temple. As the name of the restaurant would suggest, it specializes in roasted duck, but it also serves up a mean pooch. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let my photos do most of the talking from this point.

This is Samgyet'ang, or Chicken Ginseng Soup. Basically, it's a whole chicken (granted, not a very big one) stuffed with rice and ginseng. Truth be told, I don't like it very much - it's a little too bland for my tastes. Samgyet'ang is a very popular food in summer, and is commonly sold along alongside the dog meat dishes for those who are too pussy to down Rover.

This, my friends, is boshinjeongol, dog meat stewed in a spicy broth with vegetables. Coincidentally, the Kwangga Restaurant prefers to use the North Korean term for dog meat, dangogi (literally, "sweet meat"); late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung supposedly counted dog meat among his favorite foods, as does his son and current Nork gangster king Kim Jong-il. You're currently looking three servings worth of stew - one serving sets you back 17,000 won. Boshint'ang, which is a dog meat soup served individually in stone-pot bowls, is much cheaper at 9,000 won per bowl (10,000 won for all you weenies living in Seoul).

What's this, you ask? Well, we ladle the stew out of the main pot above into individual saucers, as seen above. The meat is usually then dipped in a sauce of red pepper paste, vinegar, and ground sesame before eating. Yum, yum.

Ahh, the final part. Once all the meat has been consumed, steamed rice is then mixed with the remaining broth and vegetables. One lets it simmer for a bit before eating. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, concludes a fine meal like dog gravy rice. At this point, let me give a shout out to the Gwanga T'ong Ori restaurant - the food was terrific, the premises are clean and comfortable, and the service was great. It has earned the Marmot's Seal of Excellence, and if you ever find yourself near Chungshim-sa Temple in Kwangju, you're encouraged to stop in and give'em your money.

posted Sunday, 6 July 2003

A visitor made this comment,

I think most of the controversy about your choice of cuisine is based on the method of killing the dog. Sure, there are few folks that just think "puppy" = "cute" = "don't eat" - but the more cerebral will tell you that the kill is the problem.

By no means am I na�ve enough to think all slaughterhouses are instant and painless. I've heard some stories about bolts through the skull or rectal electrocution, but I really don't know how it works. Not the case here, I've seen it first hand. Most western food does not include the requirement for adrenaline to be coursing through the meat prior to death. That's where *I* draw the line (err, in chalk, while it's raining).

I'm no PETA fan, but stringing a mutt up by the neck and beating it to death seems a little *too* cruel. I can't really see restaurants offering "free-range puppy" - or any other alternative to make the puppy huggers happy.

On the other hand, I've enjoyed boshintang more than once - and feel no guilt for doing so. I don't have a favorite restaurant (but I know where a few are), nor do I have an urge to eat it (but have and will continue to do so when offered).

I would be pretty irate if the Hindus got a torqued with my red-meat diet, consisting primarily of their *sacred* animal. (Sacred! Think about **that**! Not some house pet that you're emotionally attached to, it's part of their deity structure!)

I am forever grateful that Mr. Oh and Mr. Kim didn't tell me and hype it up for my first time - they got me drunk first. (How many times have I said that?) The hangover was much worse than any psychological damage.

My bottom line: I don't care how cows, pigs and chickens are killed when I'm looking at a menu. If you're not a member of PETA, or at least a vegetarian, I don't want to hear about it. (And if you are, shut up and pass the pepper.)

Pogue.

Pogue [EMAIL PROTECTED]

comment added :: 6th July 2003, 11:44 GMT+09

A visitor made this comment,

Part II.

Just read Dr. Dogmeat's page, as well as the Slate article linked above. Dr. Dogmeat needs to switch to decaf.

Is a eating dogmeat actually "Korean Culture"?? Just because Koreans did it a long time ago, does that make it "Culture"?

As a school assignment, I once had to interview my grandparents about the Great Depression. I was shocked, shocked I tell you, to find out that nearly everybody ate pigeons back then. Is eating pigeons "American Culture"? Don't think so, either.

Similar arguments by Dr. Dog - he talks about the seige of 1870, the Prussian War, and other obvious "hard times" in France - when folks turned to Rover and Spot for nourishment. I don't think eating dogmeat is "French Culture", either.

I think there's a hyper-sensitivity to "Cultural Imperialism" here, and the xenophobes who defend all things Korean need to realize that not all things Korean are accepted as "normal" world-wide. (Yes, I also note that the death penalty and abortion are also not accepted as "normal" world-wide.)

Bottom line, is your menu your culture? I certainly hope not - I can't stand pigeons (samgaetang, quail, and french hens, too).

Korea today is not the same as Korea 20, 50, or 100 years ago. Korean culture has changed - like it or not. There aren't many folks that live like they do on the dramas my wife is always watching.

My second bottom line: I'm not against eating dog. I'm just not convinced it's any more Korean culture than is their miserable driving - but I believe that defending a stereotype and defining it as "culture" can futher problems with other stereotypes (like the way they drive... Oh.)

Pogue.

Pogue [EMAIL PROTECTED]

comment added :: 6th July 2003, 12:43 GMT+09

A visitor made this comment,

I've had boshintang a finite number of times, and I don't see what the fuss is either way. The meat varies, and as far as I could tell I only liked some of the meat. As far as other non-Koreans are concerned, I've eaten many animals in America, like frogs and deer, which Koreans scoff at. As a matter of fact, I love venison, and one of the highlights of a trip to Budapest was a fine plate of venison. Once I got a hold of some real tabasco sauce and real Mexican spices and pepper, my wife no longer can say foreigners don't like spicy food, because she choked on the peppers. The point is: most Koreans just don't know about cuisine outside of Korea.

I support the legalization and regulation of producing, selling, and serving dog, but I wonder how that would affect those who sell dogs as pets. I mean, can a dog legally be livestock and pet? I'm not sure in the States, if you can own a goat or cow legally, either.I guess the Koreans could make a law however they want.

I'm also annoyed by the television shows with pets. There are owners with fifty dogs, cats, or some other semi-exotic animal. How many people can take care of so many oets? it seems as if everyday I see dogs wandering the streets. It's not as bad as Thailand, but somedays I want to start a dog pound.

One other thing connected with dogs as pets. So many of the peets sold in Korea lack pedigrees, and frequently the pets are sick. One co-worker and his wife bought a dog, and it died a week later. If the Korean government cannot regulate this trade, how will they be able to handle all the links in the dog as cuisine trade? The Blue House can't even stop a union! of course, legalization will provide Roh with more workers ripe for unionization.

Now that I consider it, I'm beginning not to like this dog thing at all! Keep it illegal! Why turn Korea into a legal country without shred of character or danger? Bon Appetit!

Infidel [EMAIL PROTECTED]

comment added :: 6th July 2003, 14:31 GMT+09

Robert Koehler made this comment,

No argument with any of the comments posted so far, although I'm a bit uncomfortable with generalizing the slaughtering practices - most dogs are not hung up with a rope and beaten (although some are, and the belief that doing so makes the meat tastier does persist in some circles). The problem is, the 1988 ban and the 1991 exclusion of dogs from the legally consumed livestocks list deprived the government of the ability to regulate the industry. Strangely enough, its the animal rights groups who most passionately opposed the bill calling for legalization cum regulation - despite constantly focusing on cruel slaughtering practices, their aim is to have dog meat consumption banned outright, regardless of how the dog is killed. I can recall one Korean animal rights activist ranting that if Koreans are permitted to eat dog, then Koreans will lose their humanity, and soon enough, Koreans will not shy away from eating anything - including other people! What re! ally tends to irk me is that a lot of these groups play on stereotypes of East Asians as being insensitive to pain and suffering, stereotypes which may be valid if you consider the way in which K-Pop is going these days (Ahn Ch'i-hwan is still doing concerts, so I guess there's hope). The problem is, Dr. Ahn and his ilk then fire back utilizing the same kind of ignorance and racism that they accuse Western animal rights activists of. Ahn is a nutritional scientist, as so long as he sticks to that subject, he's fine. But when he crosses over into discussions of Western history and cultural imperialism, his ignorance of those subjects shines through, and he ends up doing us dog eaters much more harm than good. This ties in somewhat with Infidel's comment, which is (and I apologize for the sweeping generalization), that Koreans do not have a very deep appreciation for non-Korean foods. Ahn may be correct when he accuses Westerners (or at least some of us melenin-deficient folk) of ! regarding certain non-Western culinary habits as "barbaric." However, it should also be pointed out that from my experience, Westerners travellers are much more likely to appreciate local cuisine than are their Korean counterparts. Koreans have a rather nasty habit of only eating Korean food when they travel abroad, and likewise, asume that Westerners eat primarily Western food when they stay in Korea. I spent 5 days in China with my classmates at Kyung Hee University, and it took three days into the trip for us to get our first taste of Chinese food (although, strangely enough, we were denied the chance to sample the two dishes for which Sino-Korean cuisine is most known - naengmyon and, you guessed it, dog meat). Likewise, for a city of 11 million people, Seoul is remarkable in its dearth of international cuisine. Things are changing; some of the more industrious of Korea's large foreign worker community are moving into the restaurant business, bringing a taste of their native cuis! ines to Korean palates. However, many of these restaurants are patronized exclusively by the expat community; walk into any Mongolian restaurant, some of which can be found in Uijeongbu and Tongdaemun, and you'll find very few Korean customers, if any. Their understanding of Western cuisine, likewise, is limited to fast food and the Japified version of "kyongyangshik" that can be found at Korean "resut'orang." - hardly a fair sampling of the great culinary traditions of the West. Of course, much the same can be said of the West's understanding of Eastern cuisine, but I think it's fair to say that there's a rather profound difference in degree.

Oh, and BTW Infidel, from what I've gathered from dog meat business sites, it would seem that those in that line of work vote GNP, although Noh did come out in support of full legalization before the election.

Visit me @ http://marmot.blog-city.com/

comment added :: 7th July 2003, 03:02 GMT+09

A visitor made this comment,

Fuck you, and fuck Korea, you dumbass. You're a disgrace to your race, not as in, the white race, as in, the human race. Dog eating cocksuckin' stupid ass motherfucker, go live with an arab, bitch!

comment added :: 9th July 2004, 17:56 GMT+09

A visitor made this comment,

Those fuckin Koreans will pretty much eat anything, I know a dog is just an animal, but it's a domesticated animal that has evolved to love and abide mankind. Eating a Dog is down-right unnecessary and treacherous.

Time and Time again throughout life I have wittnessed that people that don't like dogs are usually cold hearted dickheads and have sadistic tendencies.

And I am not some hippie vegetarian either, I am a pro Boxer and like my meat. However a dog is not meat, it's a mate.

RussianConcussion [EMAIL PROTECTED]

comment added :: 11th December 2004, 12:56 GMT+09

A visitor made this comment,

you guys are so mest up! Poor dog.I am Bill Gates and I am going to kill you all because you are killing poor dog. Would you like to be in someones dish!

your ass

comment added :: 25th December 2004, 12:15 GMT+09

A visitor made this comment,

dogeaters should be termed as cannibals

maddogg

comment added :: 7th January 2005, 08:11 GMT+09

A visitor made this comment,

This so called 'meat' is a dog. A dog is not a cow or pig, it is a loving caring animal. I think this is horrible and if anyone even tries to EVER offer me dog meat i will SCREAM!

Visitor

comment added :: 20th April 2005, 03:35 GMT+09

[Assam] About Dog Meat - Read if you have time to spare

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